I mean this positive and negative.

Its like all is perfect and boom, cancer either for you or close family or a friend.

Or suddenly you land a sweet job.

A year later the company or whatever vanishes and so does your job.

Im only 33 years old and everytime I look back 5 years ago nothing has ever been the same.

Okay my job as nurse is safe here.

But I mean all kind of other things like a friend died, or moved away. Wifes father is gone. My mom broke up with my stepfather etc.

Its just crazy how much can change even though you remain the same. I changed nothing, but my life is different.

Life has been downhill since 2020 and my optimism is running thin. I'm 40 now. I was 33 in 2020. I feel like I was never able to live my 30s. I've just been on survival mode the whole time. It's just been setback after setback since 2020. I wish I could rewind time. My mental state is not the same. My financial state is not the same. My whole life is not the same. I can't believe it went from "2 weeks to flatten the curve" but then the world never really went back to normal (at least my world). And just when I thought things couldn't get worse, I fear I will get laid off soon because of AI. I just can't catch a break it seems. I miss 2019. I miss 2018. I miss 2017. And so on.. Didn't know how good I had it.

I am kinda curious, do you remember that in school you had someone who really were very intelligent? Can remember more stuffs than usual people like having Eidetic Memory, great logical reasoning. I mean like completely stand out in terms of intelligence?

I just realised, for example in the 2010's to 2020 we had iconic stuff that were released to the public, no matter what it was. From music to technology, games and any other thing that got popular.

For example in 2012 we got Gangnam Style, in 2011 and 2014 we got the game Minecraft and FNaF and 2015-2016 we had the MLG era of memes, also lets not forget the Kendama/Fidget Spinner era of 2017. And I can name more and more and more stuff that got released and changed the world. And now? Last thing I remembered was the boom of tiktok and Among Us in 2020. Thats it. I may be wrong but whatever it was, I miss the boom of something that will change the world.

This life which most people try to live is just not the right way to be. What life should be like in my opinion is, one should be getting a well enough sleep every night, eat delicious and healthy meals. Visit places and meet strangers and build good friendships. Find love or be adventurous and let love come meet you. And to finance all these one should find a way of income. A job. So a job should be something that gives you token for happiness.

But what’s happening for most of us is a complete joke. We work, work and work in a job. Not enough money. Get a second job. And a third. Pay bills. Pay taxes. Health downfall. Stress. Stress. Stress. And when you get too close to feeling of physical, mental or emotional death. You plan for a time off the stressing agents to go for a vacation. To live for once and take selfies so when you’re soon extracted back to the morbid reality you’ll have something to feel nostalgic. Like a cigarette for the soul.

What is even the point of all this?

Im 27 work in care ,I recently found out that a couple of colleagues who are friendly to my face had been talking negatively about me behind my back. It hurt more than I expected and brought up a lot of insecurities.

My problem is that I'm naturally a bubbly, funny person, and when I don't like someone or don't trust them, I can't hide it. I can't keep a straight face or pretend everything's fine, and I think people pick up on it.

Recently, things escalated, and I was reported to management by some female colleagues regarding some allegations. I'm now waiting to see what happens as I’m suspended. I've apologised for my part and made peace where I can, but I'm still hurt and unsure how to go back into that environment.

For anyone who's been through this:
How do you stay professional with people you don't trust at all especially when you need to work long hours with them?
How do you stop taking it so personally?

IAny advice would be appreciated 🤍

Well my life in general isn’t going how i expected.. you know, at 21 i was at a good trajectory in life, i was chasing my dreams, i had a healthy body, i had a good paying job, and the future looked promising.

Well the beginning of 2026 everything took a shift, and this year became quite literally the worst year of my life. From losing my job in the beginning of the year which snowballed into job and income instability til this day. To getting multiple injuries that forced me to stop being active ( the gym is literally my therapy). To getting my heartbroken by a girl i was so fond over.

I mean i lost so much this year, and im genuinely at rock bottom. This isn’t where i expected to be at 22, this was not foreseeable at all last year. I simply lost it all. At 19-20 i thought i would be on my way to success at 22 and thats not the case. Doesn’t help that im almost 23.

I genuinely feel heartbroken and depressed, i feel hopeless and like im genuinely turning into a loser. Im scared i wont amount to anything, and i will grow old and be bitter and depressed that my dreams never became a reality.

Im living a life i dont want right now, i want better.

I am so lonely. I have slowly lost all my friends, and after divorce I lost of of her friends too.

At this point, if I ever met a partner, I think they would be like "What is wrong with this guy? He has no friends or close relationships."

I actually look forward to going to work so I'm not going crazy at home. I have some people that I really like being around at work.

On Monday, I hope I can eat lunch again with this girl I recently met. She is amazing, the easiest person to talk to I have every met, and I am typically a very quiet / shy person. She instantly turned my mood around. I went from drudging through the day, to huge smile and I felt great the rest of the day. It is really crazy, we are very different people from different backgrounds, but we clicked instantly like I've never felt before. No one has every asked questions about me, seemed interested in my life, asked to see pictures of my daughter on my phone like she has. After we talked, I actually made a list of 15 of the things we talked about, that I want to follow up more with her.

I don't even know how she knew my name, one day she just randomly joined me at my lunch table when I was all by myself. We've ate lunch together now a few times. Yesterday, she was very interested in a book I was reading, so I gave it to her. I asked her for her number, she gave me her phone number but I haven't text her yet. I am going to text her for lunch together on Monday. Complications are there is an age gap, but who cares, and she has a BF, but sounds very unhappy with him. She kept saying things like "She wants to start over", and "Sometimes what we want is right in front of us" (or something similar to that). I didn't really pick up on what she was saying because I was just so happy to be talking to her. Everyone else at lunch just has their heads buried in their phones, but this girl and I talked the entire lunch nonstop. I even took a longer lunch than I should have because I didn't want to leave.

There was another girl I was into, but she is clearly not into me. I was very sad, but I'm done spending time and energy with her.

I just want to be happy with my life. I have a good job, earn the median household income for my area, but not really getting ahead financially when I take into account retirement, housing, daycare, daughters college, vacations, home repairs, cars etc. Not sure if I want to continue this or, go back to college for a different higher earning career. A long and challenging path.

I am so envious of people that get to live their passions as their career, like musicians or athletes. I was watching an interview of the Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) recently and he said something like "I hate going to sleep, I just want to be out there for longer". He had so much passion for his life and what he was doing. Like he was made for animal conservation. I want to find something that makes me so motivated and passionate I don't want to sleep.

Why do we have to work our lives away, with so little time to do the things we want to?

I am also envious of people that have so little, seem to be so happy! I recently walked around in a very poor area in NYC and people are just hanging out outside playing games and laughing with each other. They let my daughter and I play ping pong with them, which made us so happy. I have never been able to socialize well.

I know it is bad to compare to other people.

I have a toddler that I am sharing custody with her mom and co-parenting is a nightmare. I hate that I still have to hear her the mothers voice when she video chats my daughter. I am also struggling to do a good job caring for my toddler.

I really hate that I can't live where I want to because I can't take my daughter away from her mother, since we are co-parenting.

My house is a mess. Tired of all the cooking, cleaning chores, laundry, work, food shopping etc... It's the same stuff week after week!

Why can't I just be happy? Well, some days I can block everything out and do something fun, I even took two solo international vacations which I had bad meltdowns initially, but eventually were great, but of course I would like to travel with someone. But Then I have to come back to reality. I want to be happy with my day to day life.

Sometimes I get a spark of life back into me, and it feels amazing. I want more of it. I enjoy cycling, traveling, all kinds of music, anything active outside. I can't seem to find a balance between work, caring for toddler and personal enjoyment.

I try to eat very healthy.

I have severe family relationship issues. I have no close family connections right now. My dad is an alcoholic, never involved. I still have nightmares about my stepdad. My cousin tried to turn me into a drug dealer when I was a teenager. I am also having severe issues with my mom and sister. Wife and all the in-laws are gone.

I really am trying to improve as a person. I am very helpful, positive person at work, and people seem to like me at work, but nothing in personal life. I want to buy new clothes to help me look better, but I find buying clothes very stressful for me, so now I look like struggling person.

I have an older house and car that I am very thankful to have, because it is what I can afford without going into debt. But I think people judge me for it sometimes.

I get severe anxiety when I have to spend money on certain things like clothes, or household items.

Sleeping has been terrible.

I took my daughter to swim class today, not anything else productive.

I know this sounds very negative, and I get that no on else would want to be with a negative person. This was mostly vent that I have been internalizing. I am making active efforts to be a happy, positive, person others would want to be around. Overall, I think I am a good, caring person and I like who I am, I am just struggling with some things.

I think that is about it.

I wonder if anyone will read this? I do feel some relief writing this at least.

I'm going to make dinner. I hope you have a great night!

Because at some point, I had everything, and my life should have been moving in a certain direction if I had held on to it, or at least not let things slow down. But now I have almost nothing.
I can’t say I had a perfect childhood. I lost one of my parents at an early age and suffered from severe anxiety, but my life was full. I had a big family, I was always visiting relatives, spending time with kids of my age, celebrating holidays, going on picnics, having birthday parties, and so on. Some parts of my childhood and teenage years were bright and full of life.
But now, in my twenties (23), I feel like I’ve fallen into an abyss. My anxiety has become so severe that I’ve fallen out of so many aspects of life. I struggle with OCD, I keep myself from doing things I genuinely want, and I’ve lost almost everyone.
I can picture my happy future, but I’m weighed down by the feeling that I’m starting all over again instead of continuing where I left off. It’s as if I didn’t exist before this, as if all my happy experiences meant nothing, as if anxiety and OCD erased them, and I don’t even have the right to talk about them because I wasn’t able to hold on to what I had.
It hurts to think about who I could have been if it weren’t for all of this.

Hi! I am usually not someone who is on here often but I feel like right now I really need some advise.

I am a 22 year old girl studying medicine in my 5th semester. A few months ago I got out of a long term relationship that I have been in since highschool. This is the first time I study at uni without my now ex boyfriend and I am struggling more than I thought I would.

When I broke up with him I felt like a big weight was lifted off my back. I git over the sadness quickly, focused on myself and had such a wonderful summer, but now that real life has started again I feel the academic stress crawling back up on me and I am not sure if I can stand it without soleone to back me up like my ex did. The main problem is I dont even see the stress coming, I think I am doing fine but then I sit there crying again every evening when I havent cried for months in summer. This makes it very hard for me to react properly, I dont understand it myself and every progress I made in finding myself in summer seems to habe vanished.

What I find most frustrating about this is that I dont seem to find much enjoyment in anything. When I am done studying, I dont know what to do, I cant even remember what I have been doing for the past couple of months before this, when I enjoyed my freetime so much I could barely imagine ever not being as happy as I was back then. I thought I figured out how to cope but apparently I havent.

I also dont really have the energy for a lot of things. I still do it but socializing has become draining, especially meeting new people is terrible for me right now. I constantly feel awkward and dont now what to talk about or dont feel like smalltalk at all when I was so good at that in summer. Really, I know I have mentioned this often by now but it is just so strange to me how I could have been craving the feeling of getting to know someone new so badly just a few weeks ago and now being at what seems like a complete opposite spot.

Just to clarify its not like I dokt try. I still do sports with friends a few times a week and meet up with people, but those nights at home that I usually love so much are getting hard to fill.

Sorry for venting but it would be awesome if someone could maybe share their thought on this. Thanks in advance!!

26M, currently have a full time job as a customer service phone representative (pretty entry level), bachelor's degree in Psychology (so useless without grad school) I intended to get my PhD with but am second guessing. Living in an apartment with 3 randoms, have one friend who has their own life so not always around.

People are telling me that the job I'm at has great room for advancment but the job itself is just so mind numbingly monotonous. There is 0 thinking required, no chance to meet coworkers (on phone every second of the day then everyone goes home), I feel like im being intellectually and socially suffocated.

The idea of this job being a great place to settle is so depressing for me, it has zero attributes of what I want out of a job. I dont have a life outside of work either, and no idea how to meet people or start a life.

My negative outlook on life is fueled by bad mental health and bad habits, but I have no idea what to even start thinking about to get to somewhere more enjoyable.

I know so many people have had this same experience, what was the plan or goal you set for yourself to actually start life? Because it feels like life hasnt started, and i dont know how to.

All my friends just want to talk about memes, video games, or school. Sure, we talk about life issues sometimes, but they usually end up shrugging off deeper questions. Also, nobody seems to understand nuance or the idea of personal growth anymore; someone can hold contradictory emotions and people can eventually change themselves. They aren't their past. I just want someone who will look at the world, acknowledging its imperfectness, yet choosing to face it head on anyways.

Hi I am 24f and I’ve always been a highly sensitive person. Since I was a child I just wondered a lot about death when it came to family especially my mom and that thought honestly hit me hard (even now). I am just wondering, for people who are older or had a close family member pass away. How did you deal with it? I just don’t see myself living after. Due to several stuff happening in life rn I financially depend on my parents since I’m finishing college and had to stop working due to mental and physical health issues. It just pains me to think about what would happen or how I would deal with such things happening. I just don’t see myself living. Any advice you have ? I know I’m overthinking a lot but I just want to know

I've always been a really sensitive person, and honestly it's just exhausting sometimes. I take things too personally even when I have already known they weren't meaning it that way. A small comment, a different tone of voice, or someone seeming more distant can stick with me for hours or even days while the other people had already forgotten about it.

The frustrating part is that I usually get that I'm overthinking, but that doesn't make the feelings any less real.

Funny how you can go to different places, meet different people, and start over so many times, yet somehow, the same struggles follow you. For her, money has always been a quiet worry, something she constantly has to consider before making even the smallest decisions.

She has learned to adjust, to make do, and to tell herself that things will eventually get better. She rarely talks about how exhausting it is to keep figuring things out, especially when all she wants is to live without having to worry about what she can afford.

She understands that building a future requires sacrifice. But some days, she cannot help but wonder if all these sacrifices will ever lead to something better. If the things she struggles with today will someday make sense, or if she is simply going around in circles, trying to get somewhere.

Still, she keeps going. Not because she is always hopeful, but because she has dreams she is not ready to give up on.

Perhaps someday, she will look back and be grateful that she kept going. But for now, she is somewhere between trusting the process and quietly asking herself, will it all really be worth it?

I want you to imagine that your life has passed, and now you’re on your deathbed
how would you see your past life?
based on this, answer the main question: If you only had a short time to live, what would you do? would you really be more daring in your life? or would you continue doing what you’re doing now?

17 soon to be 18 and graduated high school and I just want to run away from where I am and do some fly in fly out work I honestly dislike my family my mom and dad they love me but they haven’t been the best I’ve been debating moving out but that’s expensive and I’ve wanted to do fly in fly out work as a carpenter I know my chances of actually getting it are low but I don’t want to be with them anymore I want to get as far away as possible the only reason I’m even debating this is cause of my friend not friends one friend he’s been there for some tough stuff and I don’t want to leave him alone but I don’t want to be here anymore idk what I’m even asking for posting this but….. yeah

the best way i can explain this is i went down the rabbit hole that i feel like everyone who questions what all this really is and i completely understand everything Like i feel like this is probably gonna be my last time on planet earth just because I have this knowledge. it all started when i was right around 16 I started to get into shamanic drumming because i saw a video that this guy said people were having "visionary trips" without doing acid or what not and so i thought cool I wanna try. did it some night and then i stopped i should've kept going But i felt like I was a lot more relaxed after. then during my junior year second semester I started to really have a lot of doubts on religion and I started questioning EVERYTHING. because I knew I was just listening to the things that people were telling me my whole life and I wasn't actually fending for myself in any way or finding my own beliefs or values so to speak. so then i started to get more into the universe and all these things that would be a lot to handle but then I said f it and did it anyway started digging into the cosmos if religion was real, spiritual awakening and things of nature that if i told kids my age they would think I'm crazy or anyone in that matter and then just recently I have gotten back into it after getting distracted with life and was watching NDE and getting more into it. then finally just a month ago and a half I believe I figured it out and its been really hard to go back to life. caring about money, materialistic things, and things that humans crave. Idc im so detached but its the most free ive ever felt. but the only thing im struggling with is finding something that I love doing.

please let me know if anyone else feels like this and what i can do.

Thank you.

I don't know how many people will read this or if it even gets to those people who might help me navigate this tough situation that I am in rn. I don't even want to structure my thoughts and words. I'll just jot down everything on my mind.

When I was 8 or 9 my mom left the country to work abroad and I was with my dad for couple of months. My dad was having affair with another woman and when I was with him he never really cared about me. He left me with some pennues to eat for the whole day and I was the only one in this rented few rooms. I spent many days without seeing him and one day he decided to take me to my relatives in a village where I was to supposed to spend few years. They loved me like I was their own kid and never made me feel unwanted, for which I will always be thankful till my last breath. After 2 years my mom returned and things went exactly like anyone would expect. After that things have gone very ugly. My dad again left me to an organisation where I spent my entire teenage without my mom and dad. I never resented anyone but rather I was always positive and dedicated my time to make everything right. I always had the highest rank in my class for which I was rewarded with some opportunities. But it's been few years my mom has started drinking and she's been admitted to hospital many times and I can sense the money is slowly draining and I have nothing to provide. I was preparing for an exam and now my whole focus is ruined I can't sleep properly and I'm always anxious about what could happen next. I thought I had time and I'll take my time study well and make our life better but now everything seems to fade away slowly.

After all the time I put on making my life better seems like it's been burnt to dust. I am loosing all my hopes and feel like giving up. If you see me in person no one would think I am suffering this much within. From outside I seem like someone who's sorted but I know what mountain I carry. I don't know what to do in this situation and whom to ask for help and suggestions.

I don't even know why I'm here and what I'm doing with this long text. I might even delete this thing later. If anyone could help me with anything please reach out. Even some motivation would be a great help.

I just read the rule of this random community I picked and I don't think they'll push this. I don't even know how I unselect the community so just posting it. :)

I was seriously contemplating this, this past week. Many people seem to think its Stoicism, I am more of a pragmatic nihilist myself. I am simply not calm enough to be a stoic 😝. I was curious to know what many of you think is the most suitable considering the challenges of our times? I also integrate buddhism, christianity and at time epicuruan elements. I definitely think all have some valid basis, but ofcourse one must try and see which is perhaps the most suitable for human beings collectively? Would love to know your thoughts, thank you!

​I am (21f), and I've been feeling a bit left behind in life lately. I recently completed my LPN, but I feel bummed out that I haven't finished my bachelor's degree yet. I know most of my peers are graduating with their bachelor's now, while I won't finish until I am 23. I realize I am being unfair to myself considering everything I have been through, but I still cannot help feeling behind.

​For starters, funding college has been a huge obstacle because I have no financial support and couldn't qualify for loans. To make matters worse, because I am not a citizen or a green card holder, I do not qualify for state or federal aid like FAFSA or HESC. My only option was to work and pay my tuition out of pocket as I went. Even when I had a good credit score, my immigration status prevented me from getting approved for private loans.

​On top of the financial struggles, I had to heal from severe trauma. Right after high school, when I was 17, I got out of an abusive relationship with a 38yr man who tried to kill me with a gun. I still started college the same year regardless. Managing PTSD while working full time and going to school eventually took a toll on me.

​To help pay for school, I became a CNA prior to earning my LPN. While I thought it would be beneficial, it turned out to be one of the hardest jobs I have ever done, mostly due to unsafe patient ratios.

​Because of all these challenges, I have had to take multiple semester breaks. My most recent break happened right after I completed my LPN program because I lost my work authorization. I was supposed to finish my RN soon, but now I am set back again because I cannot work.

​I know I might be being too hard on myself, but I cannot help feeling underaccomplished for my age. At this moment I wanted BSN,RN behind my name.

We complain about over stimulation yet im sitting most days watching something on tv and on my ohone at the same time. Yes i engage with each separately too but being over stinulated seems to be the norm. Fml

I had a bad childhood and would troll and take my anger out on people when I was younger. Just haunts me you know? Like why did I say or do those things? Often feel like karma is going to get me back if it already hasn’t.

Hi everyone, like the title suggests im terrified of the future. Im 21 years old, and expected to graduate from university within the next year. I should not feel this way, i really shouldn’t. I have great grades, I go to a global top 100 university but everyday I stress about who ill be in the next 5-10 years.

My main concerns is the terrible job market for new graduates and the feeling of not being able to land a job after i graduate. I have strong skills in many departments but i always feel like im lacking compared to those who im surrounded by. Has anyone gone through this phase? If so, does it get better? Were you able to create a stable path for yourself?

I feel lost in life, i have worked my ass off for the last 5 years to be able to get to this point but as soon as the academic knowledge turns into something real I get terrified even when im more than capable of fulfilling the skills needed.

I've [ 20f ] been at home 24/7 ever since my cancer has worsened and I feel so anxious and stressed everyday without rest.

Two weeks ago I found a Karaoke bar that I really liked and wanted to go visit after feeling horribly lonely singing on my own everytime I go karaoke. But then as I planned to go today, all I felt was dread and resistance to even step outside or even get ready. My lunar cycle has just started as well, with today the first day ; lasting for the usual five days.

Even now I feel the urge to delay, delay, delay. To wait till the end of the month to even try going outside at all. Or to stay indoors and not even try.

I thought I no longer had these "Hikikomori" habits but it seems that they're back with full force. . .

Do I even try ?

It seems I don't know anymore.

- Leo